Woot! Anousa, minna-san! First thing first...gomenasai, minna-san! It's been forever since I last updated this! So, in order to make it up, I'll make a super-long chappy this time! Woot! Yay! I know my chappies in this story are already long enough compared to my other stories, but I'll make it much longer this time - just for the sake of you guys! Yay! Woot!

Yori: Well, just make sure that you don't over-stress yourself!

Koneko: I know! I know!

Gaara: Hn...you just don't care about yourself, do you?

Koneko: Haha... (sweatdrop) Well, at least I care about you guys!

Gaara: (rolls eyes) Yeah right...

(hits Gaara's head) Yeah, anyways! Yosh, let's get the story started now! Woot!


Chappy Three

"Make sure you read all about the dance, dobe..."

"Teme, I know what to do, okay?!"

"Hn..." the raven smirked, patting the blond's hair. "...I'm counting on you..."

Immediately, the kitsune blushed. He pouted slightly and touched the part of his head which the taller guy had just touched lightly as he watched the brunette walked away. When the Uchiha was out of his sight, he let out a small sigh and turned the other way as he too, started walking home. As he walked home, he thought about his previous conversation with the other male.

"And why exactly do you want us to do this dance?"

"Because it has more elegance and is classier than your dumb hip-hop dance..."

"Wha-?!"

"Also...because I want to see you dancing like an angel in my hold, little princess..."

'Darn it, he just knows how to tackle me at the right places!' he threw his blushing face into his palms. 'Damn it! You're a guy, Naruto, a guy! So behave like a guy, darn it! Don't act all girlie now just because the teme said something so very nice that would make almost everyone melt after hearing it to you! ...darn, I just have to remind myself about it, don't I? Baka...'

"...yo, Naruto!"

Naruto looked up and saw a brunette with spiked hair and fang-like teeth approaching him with his trademark grin. 'Great...' the boy rolled his eyes. 'Just the one whom I don't want to be here...' Nevertheless, he forced a smile and waved back at the other boy who was apparently walking his little pet dog. The kitsune looked at the furry and smiled wider.

"Taking Akamaru out again, eh Kiba?"

"Heh..." Kiba grinned crookedly. "Anyways...you just got back from school, dude?"

"Yep, got some errands to do back there," the blond grinned, pointing back to the school.

At this, the brunette gaped slightly. "...whoa. Man, where did you learn that from?"

"...learn what from?"

"That, that word! What was it, irans...irens..."

"Oh...you mean 'errands'?"

Kiba nodded excitedly. "Yeah, that one! Where did you learn it from, dude?"

"Well...someone taught me," the boy shrugged.

"Oh..." the dog-lover made a thoughtful face. "Heh...what were the errands anyway?"

"You know, about the upcoming dance competition...I got stuck with the duck-butt-haired ass in the couple-dancing competition..." the kitsune rolled his eyes, emphasising that he really disliked the idea of the two of them dancing together - in which it was a complete lie of course, as he really enjoyed the both of them having some sweet conversation with each other.

"Whoa, sorry for ya, man... Anyway, I hope you'll still do the best in the competition!" he grinned and suddenly, he was pulled by Akamaru. "Oh, looks like Akamaru wants to go somewhere else. Guess I gotta go now! Ja ne, Naruto!"

"Ja!"

After that, Naruto continued his walk home. As he walked past the streets of the small town of Konoha, he thought again about what the raven had said to him. Then, slowly, he started to blush again and ended up running home. As soon as he reached his house, he entered the compound, panting like a marathon runner. Suddenly, he noticed an extra pair of shoes at the pavement of his house.

'Hm? Koneko-chan has a guest?'

He slowly took off his shoes and got into the house. "I'm home!"

Receiving no response whatsoever from the ones inside the house, the boy shrugged and walked past the hallway towards the staircase. He passed the living room and noticed the red-haired girl talking to another person whom he assumed was the girl's crush, Gaara. It was not peculiar that the redhead had agreed to come to their house - since he sensed that the boy also had a crush on his god-sister.

"...Naru-chan, just got back from school?" Koneko asked, smiling.

"Yeah..." he smiled back. "Oh...hi, Gaara."

The redhead just nodded slightly in return. Knowing his stoic attitude, Naruto just smiled as he walked up the stairs towards his room. When he got into his bedroom, he undressed himself and threw on some fresh new clothes for him to wear; a plain white tee and a pair of green cargo shorts. He then got into the bathroom and washed his hair before going back to the living room.

"No, the answer's A, not B!"

"...I pity Gaara, you know," the kitsune said, smiling forcefully at the tanuki.

"I wouldn't be so loud if he at least listens to me!" Koneko replied angrily. "Baka, the answer to that is D!"

Quickly, Gaara changed his answer without saying anything. Somehow, Naruto found this amusing; Koneko yelling at Gaara every time he answered wrongly and Gaara just let himself being yelled at with his usual stoic expression. The blond knew, even he himself would not be able to stand the yelling and shrieking for that long - and he was just there for a few minutes.

"You really should slow down your voice, Koneko-chan..."

"I don't care!"

"...just shut up..."

The redhead turned to the other redhead and gave him an odd stare. Weirdly enough, she just stopped yelling after that. Instead, she just watched as the boy made some calculations. She looked like she was about to blow up whenever Gaara made a mistake, but she stopped herself when the red-haired male shot her a weird look. This made the blond interested.

"...so, what are you two doing?"

"Maths..." Koneko replied briefly, still watching the redhead in front of her. "...you know, that's wrong..."

"Hm?"

"You have to multiply first, then only you add the answer. I already told you about the Bodmass formula, right?" she asked, furrowing her brows slightly.

"...gomen, I guess I forgot about it..."

The red-haired girl blushed when Gaara flashed a small apologetic smile to her. Even Naruto's face were slightly pink thanks to the extremely peculiar attitude of the usually-emotionless one. Later on, the two of them continued with their Mathematics discussion with the blond watching them. After a while, he got bored and decided to go find someone to talk to.

"Ne Koneko-chan, do you mind if I use the phone?"

"Iie," the girl shook her head slightly, making her usual pout. "...oh, and Gaara-kun will be having dinner with us tonight, if you don't mind."

"...heh?"


So...

Kring! Kring!

"...pick up the phone, otouto..."

The raven rolled his eyes and got up to pick the phone up. "Moshi moshi?"

"Erm...Sasuke?"

"...Naruto?"

"Uh...is that you, Sasuke?" the other voice asked, unsure.

"Who else would it be, dobe?" the Uchiha rolled his eyes and answered teasingly. "Why are you calling, anyway?"

He then heard Naruto huffing and chuckled slightly. "Hm...well, are you free tonight?"

"Hn? Guess so...why?"

"Well..." the blond hesitated for a while. "...um, Koneko-chan had invited Gaara for dinner tonight...so...I thought, maybe you would want to...you know...have dinner with us? Um...it's okay if you don't want to though, 'cause-"

"I'll be there."

"...huh?"

"I said I'll be there...little princess..."

"...I'M NOT A LITTLE PRINCESS, TEME!!"

Fortunately, Sasuke had already put the phone receiver away from his ear before the kitsune managed to yell through it. When the yelling had stopped, the raven put it back to his ear and snickered lightly. On the other line, Naruto pouted and huffed. He was fortunate that the taller guy could not see his face, or else the Uchiha would be able to see his redder-than-overripe-tomato face.

"Darn it, teme," he said, panting a little from both anger and embarrassment. "Are you coming over or not?!"

"I'll be there, happy?"

"Teme..." the boy pouted again.

Unexpectedly, Sasuke laughed. "Gomen, gomen...I'll be there, okay?"

"Um..." the blond blushed slightly. "...eight o'clock, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah...by the way, have you read the book I told you to?"


Later...

"I was distracted, okay?"

"By a couple of stupid people who were arguing while doing their homework..."

"We're not stupid, darn it!" the girl smacked the raven's head. "At least I'm not!"

Rubbing his aching head slightly, the Uchiha glared at the redhead. "Can't you at least slow down your voice?"

"Not to someone who called me idiot, Uchiha..." she hissed, glaring back at the taller guy.

"Um...let's just go and have dinner, okay?"

Still glaring at each other, the two of them walked quickly passed the other two into the dining room. The blond just looked at them and sighed, an anime sweat formed on his head. The male redhead, on the other hand, tried to pretend as if he was not there. They both entered the dining room as well and saw that the other two were still in their glaring contest.

"...I'll go and get the meals for us..."

"Huh?" the kitsune blinked. "Oh...arigato, Gaara."

Gaara nodded and disappeared into the kitchen. The blond then let out another sigh as he turned his attention back to the glaring persons sitting at the table, across from each other. He decided that it was enough since it is not good to fight at the dining table. Quietly, he walked towards Sasuke and smacked him on the head - and before he could say anything, he went over to Koneko and smacked her head as well.

"Ow! Nandayo?!" the both of them said at the same time. "Hey, don't copy my words! Nani?! You're the one-!"

"Urusai...!"

The two stopped immediately and turned to the kitsune. "About time the both of you stop fighting..." he rolled his eyes as he went to the kitchen to help Gaara with the food.

Koneko watched as the boy got into the kitchen slowly. She then let out a small sigh and followed him, knowing his usual sulking attitude. This left the raven alone inside the dining room. He did not mind about it at least though, since he had always preferred being alone in the silence. So, he just waited for the three of them while he enjoyed his moment of peace slowly.

On the other hand, Naruto walked quickly through the kitchen towards the back garden. Gaara, who was currently stirring the chocolate sacue for the dessert, stared at the blond as he got outside. Then, he turned to the red-haired girl who seemed like she was chasing the boy. She managed to flash a forced grin before dashing out of the house, calling the blond's name.

"Naru-chan!"

Unexpectedly, the red-haired guy's eye twitched slightly upon hearing the pet name that the girl gave to his god brother. Indeed, he actually had developed a crush towards the hyper redhead, but he had been trying to avoid his weird feelings. However, when the both of them had started going to the same classes, they had unknowingly grown close towards each other.

At first, it was just a rivalry matter. While Koneko was super awesome in calculations and imaginative thoughts, Gaara was great in literature and remembering. As the girl was the one who likes to compete - and hates losing, she would always challenge the boy whenever there were tasks to be done. It annoyed him at first, but later on he found out about his sudden feelings.

Still, he decided to just hide it and play along with the redhead's ridiculous attitude. Soon enough, his feelings grew and grew till it was impossible to actually hide it. Thus, he thought it would be better if they become friends and he could probably know the girl and his unwanted feelings better. But he had never thought of them to become as close as they were currently.

'Really...'


Meanwhile...

"Naru-chan?"

The boy just sat under the tree with his face buried between his knees, not replying to the girl's call. "Naru-chan...you're not sulking again, are you?"

"..."

The redhead sighed. She really did not like it when the kitsune sulked off. For her, the blond was a little bit too sensitive, even small matters would affect him greatly. She neared the boy and crouched down beside him, staring at him with slightly furrowed brows. Slowly, the smaller boy lifted his head up, revealing a pair of pinkish-red wet cheeks and a pair of red eyes.

"Why would you want to cry?" she asked, cocking a brow.

"I don't like it...when you two fought..."

The girl sighed again. "Look, we're not really fighting. It was just...some kind of a stupid glaring contest... Besides, I know you like him...and I just wanted to...you know, get closer to him. You do know that's my way of getting to know somebody, don't you?"

"...you're an idiot."

At this, the two of them broke into laughter. After a short while, they were both out of breath and were panting as they stared at each other. A small smile appeared on the redhead's face as she let out a sigh, the blond smiled back and threw himself into her embrace. They would always end up like that whenever the boy cried and the girl had to calm him down.

"You two, dinner's..." the raven frowned when he saw the two. "...what are you doing?"


After dinner...

"Ne Sasuke, you want the ice cream? I can get some for you if you want-"

"No thanks..."

The boy frowned. "What's wrong, Sasuke?"

"Nothing..."

The boy's frown deepened as he pouted sadly. He was certain there was something not right going on with the raven, but he just would not tell him. He sat beside the guy and looked at his feet, knowing the Uchiha just would not say a word about his anger. Slowly, tears started to build up at the corner of his eyes as he pulled his legs closer to his chest, asking for comfort.

Soon, small sobs were heard from the blond. Startled, the raven turned to the weeping one with a worried expression. The other two redheads were nowhere to be seen as they were currently having a 'normal' conversation at the balcony on the second floor of the house. The Uchiha opened his mouth to say something, but he could only gape like an idiot.

"...N-Naruto?" he stuttered, and mentally punched himself for doing it.

"Go-gomenasai..." Naruto sniffled. "I-I was...being too sensitive... Gomen, Sasuke..." Immediately, he hugged the taller guy. "What is it, Sasuke? What did I do wrong? Why must you be mad at me, Sasuke?" he continued to sob.

On the other hand, Sasuke's face was already tinted in pink thanks to the sudden contact between them. He had never been the touchy one, and he felt really awkward when the kitsune unexpectedly embraced him. He was shuddering as he forced himself to hug the smaller boy back in order to calm him down. The blond could feel Sasuke's uneasiness, so he let go of him slightly and looked into his ebony eyes.

"Daijoubu, Sasuke?"

The raven merely nodded, knowing that his blushing would have been seen thanks to his pale complexion. "I...I'm just...not use to people...being so close to me..." 'Great, Sasuke, just great. You just got to stutter, don't you?'

"...hm," the boy suddenly chuckled, his eyes closed in the shape upside-down Us. "You can be cute sometimes, Sasuke."

"...look who's speaking, dobe..."

"Hey! I'm not cute, okay?!"

"Yeah...yeah right..." the taller guy mocked.

Face as red as a tomato, the blond let out an embarrassed squeal and tackled the Uchiha onto the floor. He then started tickling the other male, causing him to wince inwardly and started laughing and begging him to stop (1). Meanwhile, the two redheads had already headed down after they heard the noise and found out that the two were currently trying to tickle each other while trying to defend themselves from being tickled.

"...um, you guys alright?"

"Oh! Koneko-chan!" Naruto grinned, panting and squealing a little when Sasuke started poking him from behind. "Stop it, Sasuke-teme! We're alright! Just...nyaa! Playing tickling! Stop that, teme!"

Koneko blinked and turned to the other redhead. He just made his usual stoic face and shrugged slightly. The girl sighed and smiled slightly as she walked towards the two and picked the kitsune up by his collar, much to his and Sasuke's dismays. They both looked up at the red-haired neko who just stared back at them as she let the blond go and helped the raven to get up.

"It's already quite late right now, you should be heading home already," she said to the Uchiha.

"Eh?" the boy pouted. "But we're just-"

"Home," the girl repeated. "Besides, Gaara-kun's going back home as well, right?"

Gaara nodded. "Thanks for helping me with the homework...and the dinner..."

"Um..." she smiled back.

On the other hand, the blond pouted as he stared at the raven who stared back with a smirk. He really wanted to spend more time with the Uchiha, but he knew that the girl just would not let him do so. He let out a small sigh as he followed the other three towards the door. After bidding the two guys goodbye, they both went back to the house and threw themselves onto the couches.

"...so, what was it with you and the bastard?"

"He's not a bastard, okay?" the boy frowned slightly.

"Oh, really?"

"Well...he can be a bastard sometimes, but when you get close to him you'll know that he's nice actually..."

"I don't really believe in him," Koneko said. "It's just been about a week since the two of you really got close to each other. Who knows what he actually has in his mind? Besides, you have the dancing competition to be thought about..."

Naruto sighed. "I know, I know... Why can't you just let me decided things for myself? I'm not a kid, okay..."

"...I'm just worried about you..."

The kitsune closed his eyes and let out another sigh. Without saying anything anymore, he got off the couch and retreated to his bedroom, leaving the redhead alone in the living room. The girl watched her brother walking away and let out a small sigh. She indeed was really worried about the boy's relationship with the Uchiha. She could not help herself but to doubt the guy's sincerity of befriending her most precious person.

'I just hope everything will turn out fine...'

((to be continued))


Kami-sama! (faints) ... 'Koneko, wake up, you idiot!' Ugh... (sigh) That took forever to be finished...and I suppose I am freakingly tired right now...and I just have to do something to my profile since Izumi (my alter ego) wants herself to be put there... (sigh) Oh well, I guess this is all I could say before I faint again... Anyways, I'd just like to inform that the words or phrases or sentences in bold are the ones that are emphasized or yelled out - except for the numbers, of course. Speaking of the numbers, here's number (1) for you guys;

(1) Yes, Sasuke is a ticklish person sadly...lol